New Changes In All Non-Immigrant Visas

[sub101uk]

Many of us have been living over in Thailand for some time , Myself over 16 years now and year after year just got the standard non-immigrant "O" visa however I received this today from the Thai Consulate in Hull .

Dear Sir / Madam

Please note that with immediate effect applications for non-immigrant visas are to be scrutinised more closely to ensure that applicants are entitled to be issued with the visa they are requesting. To minimise possible delays in the issuing of visas caused by a lack of supporting documentation please read the attachments which explains what information we will require to be submitted for various categories of the non-immigrant visa.

Yours faithfully

Visa Section

NON-IMMIGRANT VISA

If your purpose of visiting Thailand is other than tourism you must be in possession of a valid Non-Immigrant Visa before you enter Thailand.

The Non-Immigrant Visa can be granted for the following purposes of visit but only if you provide the required evidence:-

Category “B”

Conducting business in Thailand as an employee of a non Thai company

Evidence required: Supporting letter from the company you are employed by or you are representing.

or

Taking up employment in Thailand with a Thai company.

Evidence required: Suitable letter from Thai company offering you employment.

Category “ED” (this type of visa does not allow paid employment)

Studying in Thailand

Evidence required: Suitable letter from institution you will be studying at.

or

Taking part in a work study/observation tour in Thailand

Evidence required: Suitable letter from institution you will be attending.

or

Participating in a project or seminar

Evidence required: Suitable letter from organisation arranging project/seminar.

or

Attending a business conference or trade fair

Evidence required: Suitable letter from organisation arranging conference/trade fair or from exhibitor.

or

Attending as an official at a recognised event

Evidence required: Suitable letter from organiser of event.

or

Undertaking a training course (teaching, diving boxing, etc).

Evidence required: Suitable letter from course organiser.

or

Studying as a Buddhist monk.

Evidence required: Suitable letter from Buddhist monastery.

Category “O” (this type of visa does not allow employment without a valid work permit)

Residing in Thailand

Evidence required: copy of house deeds.

or

Visiting family living in Thailand

Evidence required: Suitable Birth/Marriage Certificate showing relationship.

or

Volunteer work for a recognised charity

Evidence required: Suitable letter from charity.

or

Visiting Thailand as UK Pensioner

Evidence required: Copies of bank statements showing receipt of pension.

Any thoughts on the above !

Sub101uk

[Lite Beer]

It could well be the end of the Visiting Friends option.

[kalbo123]

Looks like the last place on earth that now also rules out the visiting friends option.. sad.....

[Mario2008]

I have adjusted the title, to reflect this is about the requirements for applying in Hull only.

[Mario2008]

The information packs with the forms you need to download for a visa in Hull have not been changed.

I can interpret the statement the OP received as that Hull will no longer accept applications without the requested proof, although the word friends is clearly missing in the statements, where as the forms says family/friends.

It is still a bit unclear.

[FarangBuddha]

All seems very reasonable and in order to me

[sub101uk]

Fully understand Mario but that is a copy from A . Taylor so I think it means from all Thai Consulate and not only Hull .As for the form I dont think its been changed yet as all this seems all very new and I have never heard of it before

This is a copy of what he said :-

Assuming you plan to apply for a new non-immigrant "O" visa later this

year please be aware that the rules are

being more rigidly applied - see attachment .

Regards

Visa Section

Royal Thai Consulate

4 Priory Court

Saxon Way

Hessle

HULL

HU13 9PB

So I think all that is in my orginal subject is correct but for years on the "O" class form it stated visiting friends but as you can see that has now been removed and only applys to Visiting family living in Thailand only and you need to submit Suitable Birth/Marriage Certificate showing relationship .

I have emailed Hull and will forward a update but it dont look good .

Sub101uk

[Lite Beer]

Alan Taylor is the Hon. Consul at the Hull Royal Thai Consulate so he would only be talking about policies at Hull.

If correct it does appear to be a tightening of rules at that particular Consulate.

[jfchandler]

As to whether this supposed tightening only affects Hulls or other consulates, wasn't it the case that Hull already was more liberal than a lot of other places in granting O visas for visiting friends....

I was under the impression a lot of other regular Thai consulates and honorary ones already weren't accepting the "just friends" approach. If I'm correct about that, then is this reported change just bringing Hull into line with what a lot of other places already were doing???

[Sophon]

It does sound like they are eliminating the "visiting friends" option, but at the same time they seem to be introducing "living in Thailand" as a new reason for issuing a Non-O, I don't belive they had that before. So if you own property in Thailand, you now seem to be covered by that option.

Sophon

[astral]

A copy of House Deeds for residence is a little extreme,

bearing in mind the law about foreigners owning property.

I hope a rental agreement will also suffice.

[FarangBuddha]

So I think all that is in my orginal subject is correct but for years on the "O" class form it stated visiting friends but as you can see that has now been removed and only applys to Visiting family living in Thailand only and you need to submit Suitable Birth/Marriage Certificate showing relationship .

I have emailed Hull and will forward a update but it dont look good .

Sub101uk

Depends on your point of view.

Edited January 5, 2011 by FarangBuddha

[Pdaz]

Seems silly to me.. The authorites made ''border runs'' difficult and said they wanted people to have a proper visa. Not keep re-entering on tourist visas.. But if they really are going to make 1 year multi non O's hard to obtain what will that do to long termers ( like myself ) who aren't old enough for a retirement visa, not married (but living with GF in long relationship) and who spend all their time in Thailand when not at work ( I work around offshore 4+ months a years ) Every year for over 10 yrs now I have obtained a non O using the 'visiting friend' catagory, Okay no real prob to do an amphur wedding ( My GF would be happy ) as a last resort. But the 'house deeds' isn't a problem.. I have a tabien bahn/Chanood in my company name so guess they should accept that but as has been said the farang owning property might be a problem or is it only deeds for condos they will accept.. Who knows.. Sounds like another 6 Month 'crackdown'

As with everything in Thailand it will depend on the person, the time of day and any number of other factors..

I have about 8 Months left on my current visa.. Hopefully it will have all blown over by then..

In my 20+ years in Asia.. alot spent in Thailand I have always tried to do everything legally ( yeah I know about the company house stuff ) and have done nothing to cause any problems apart from spending a large portion of my income here.. I'm not alone there are thousands of well paid offshore types spending money here.. many on Non O's.. Maybe they really don't want us here now.. Thought it was only the skink, desperate and dodgy business owners they were trying to discourage ?

[Upnotover]

Seems silly to me.. The authorites made ''border runs'' difficult and said they wanted people to have a proper visa. Not keep re-entering on tourist visas.. But if they really are going to make 1 year multi non O's hard to obtain what will that do to long termers ( like myself ) who aren't old enough for a retirement visa, not married (but living with GF in long relationship) and who spend all their time in Thailand when not at work ( I work around offshore 4+ months a years ) Every year for over 10 yrs now I have obtained a non O using the 'visiting friend' catagory, Okay no real prob to do an amphur wedding ( My GF would be happy ) as a last resort. But the 'house deeds' isn't a problem.. I have a tabien bahn/Chanood in my company name so guess they should accept that but as has been said the farang owning property might be a problem or is it only deeds for condos they will accept.. Who knows.. Sounds like another 6 Month 'crackdown'

As with everything in Thailand it will depend on the person, the time of day and any number of other factors..

I have about 8 Months left on my current visa.. Hopefully it will have all blown over by then..

In my 20+ years in Asia.. alot spent in Thailand I have always tried to do everything legally ( yeah I know about the company house stuff ) and have done nothing to cause any problems apart from spending a large portion of my income here.. I'm not alone there are thousands of well paid offshore types spending money here.. many on Non O's.. Maybe they really don't want us here now.. Thought it was only the skink, desperate and dodgy business owners they were trying to discourage ?

[/quote

I'm with you on this one, similar situation to yours except renting not owning. I'm going to be trying for another "O" from Hull next month. The website still has the forms for family/friends and is slightly changed from last year as it now has a draft letter where you declare the address of the friend you're staying with. Surely there must be some way to sort undesirable long stayers from the likes of us, being married is hardly any way to differentiate between good and bad.

[Monkeypants]

even if you are renting a place surely its quite easy to get a yellow Tabien Bahn ?

and in light of this thread, really should not be a problem for a Non O visa I think ?

[crazydrummerpauly]

Just a small-ish point, but with regard the getting an 'O' as a UK pensioner, and needing to show the OAPension being paid through the bank account - I'm (just) a pensioner, but have taken the option of leaving the weekly cash with the UK government for as long as I can manage ( so-called 'deferment of pension'), so there's Zero going through my bank account from the Uk pensions people even though I'm 4 months into pensionhood. I wonder if a simple Pension Forecast letter from Newcastle will make the Hull folks happy. On the much bigger point about Hull being hauled into line with other, more stringent consulates - I wonder if all the posts in so many farang-related websites citing Hull as THE easy option has killed the goose laying those Cat 'O' golden eggs for us ? I'm worried, as another guy in a serious long-term relationship who doesn't really want to be levered into marriage just to have a 'relative' rather than a mere 'friend' to visit in LOS. I might call Hull via Skype later today - usually get a straight answer to a straight question from them. Anything useful from them will be posted.

Addendum: With the new criterion of 'Living in Thailand', would that remove the need to return to one's home country to submit the application ? That rare thing in LOS 'common sense' would suggest that change, but I'm not holding my breath - any thoughts ? In addition, declaring 'Residence in Thailand' to a government agency...?....watch out all those who are still getting annual pension increases, and free NHS treatment !

Edited January 6, 2011 by crazydrummerpauly

[ImageDude]

I have just got my new Non Imm 'O' visa based on visiting family. I called the Hull consulate before submitting my application and the nice lady told me it was no big deal. Either complete the standard form stating the address I would be staying or if married a copy of the Marriage Cert. I am married to a Thai so I applied the belt and braces approach and did both, although they told me that wasn't necessary. There was no problem the visa was issued as usual and the Hull Consulate staff remain as helpful as ever.

Cheers

ImageDude

[PattayaParent]

A copy of House Deeds for residence is a little extreme,

bearing in mind the law about foreigners owning property.

I hope a rental agreement will also suffice.

Just buy a condo and then no problem.

[crazydrummerpauly]

A copy of House Deeds for residence is a little extreme,

bearing in mind the law about foreigners owning property.

I hope a rental agreement will also suffice.

Just buy a condo and then no problem.

I agree - could you lend me the cash at zero% interest ? I'll leave the condo to you in my will !

[inthepink]

even if you are renting a place surely its quite easy to get a yellow Tabien Bahn ?

and in light of this thread, really should not be a problem for a Non O visa I think ?

Yes but a tabian bahn is simply a list of people registered as living at a certain property.

Edited January 6, 2011 by inthepink

[crazydrummerpauly]

I have just got my new Non Imm 'O' visa based on visiting family. I called the Hull consulate before submitting my application and the nice lady told me it was no big deal. Either complete the standard form stating the address I would be staying or if married a copy of the Marriage Cert. I am married to a Thai so I applied the belt and braces approach and did both, although they told me that wasn't necessary. There was no problem the visa was issued as usual and the Hull Consulate staff remain as helpful as ever.

Cheers

ImageDude

"There was no problem the visa was issued as usual" - uh, of course - this thread is about worrying changes to the 'visiting friends' category - your status ( married to a Thai ) was never an issue.

[beechguy]

Just a small-ish point, but with regard the getting an 'O' as a UK pensioner, and needing to show the OAPension being paid through the bank account - I'm (just) a pensioner, but have taken the option of leaving the weekly cash with the UK government for as long as I can manage ( so-called 'deferment of pension'), so there's Zero going through my bank account from the Uk pensions people even though I'm 4 months into pensionhood. I wonder if a simple Pension Forecast letter from Newcastle will make the Hull folks happy. On the much bigger point about Hull being hauled into line with other, more stringent consulates - I wonder if all the posts in so many farang-related websites citing Hull as THE easy option has killed the goose laying those Cat 'O' golden eggs for us ? I'm worried, as another guy in a serious long-term relationship who doesn't really want to be levered into marriage just to have a 'relative' rather than a mere 'friend' to visit in LOS. I might call Hull via Skype later today - usually get a straight answer to a straight question from them. Anything useful from them will be posted.

Addendum: With the new criterion of 'Living in Thailand', would that remove the need to return to one's home country to submit the application ? That rare thing in LOS 'common sense' would suggest that change, but I'm not holding my breath - any thoughts ? In addition, declaring 'Residence in Thailand' to a government agency...?....watch out all those who are still getting annual pension increases, and free NHS treatment !

If you are already in Thailand, is applying for a one year "Extension of Stay" based on retirement an option? Then there would be no need for a new visa, or to leave Thailand.

[bangkok blue]

Phoned Hull just now, nice lady said as it stands at the moment a copy of a rental agreement for a flat or house would be fine for now, for the Non Imm "O". So no need to actually own a property. She advised to call them before you apply to sort out exactly what you need.

[Maestro]

If you are already in Thailand, is applying for a one year "Extension of Stay" based on retirement an option? Then there would be no need for a new visa, or to leave Thailand.

It is, if you are at least 50 years old.

[crazydrummerpauly]

If you are already in Thailand, is applying for a one year "Extension of Stay" based on retirement an option? Then there would be no need for a new visa, or to leave Thailand.

It is, if you are at least 50 years old.

I don't understand these 2 posts at all - 'retirement' ? - you mean after you've deposited 800,000 Bt

into a Thai bank account ? I'm no visa expert, but haven't you both drifted into a completely different

order of visa ?

As a career-paranoid, the element of this thread that worries me is the option of telling the Brit.Government

that one is RESIDENT in Thailand - how many long-stay ex-pats would be risking giving up various entitlements

in their home country ? I only know about the UK, where annual increases to the retirement (OAP) pension would

be cancelled if you are declared resident abroad; and where free access to NHS treatment is cancelled after being

out of the UK for 6 months or more - a law passed during the Blair regime under Health Secretary Steven Byers. It was

originally only 3 Months until objections caused a re-think !

Edited January 6, 2011 by crazydrummerpauly

[beechguy]

If you are already in Thailand, is applying for a one year "Extension of Stay" based on retirement an option? Then there would be no need for a new visa, or to leave Thailand.

It is, if you are at least 50 years old.

I don't understand these 2 posts at all - 'retirement' ? - you mean after you've deposited 800,000 Bt

into a Thai bank account ? I'm no visa expert, but haven't you both drifted into a completely different

order of visa ?

As a career-paranoid, the element of this thread that worries me is the option of telling the Brit.Government

that one is RESIDENT in Thailand - how many long-stay ex-pats would be risking giving up various entitlements

in their home country ? I only know about the UK, where annual increases to the retirement (OAP) pension would

be cancelled if you are declared resident abroad; and where free access to NHS treatment is cancelled after being

out of the UK for 6 months or more - a law passed during the Blair regime under Health Secretary Steven Byers. It was

originally only 3 Months until objections caused a re-think !

It's not a visa, just a one year extension of your permission to stay, from your earlier post, I thought you were of retirement age. The financial requirement for the extension is 800K in a Thai bank, or 65K per month income, or a combination of the two. Instead of going back for another visa, I was asking if that was an option for you.

[phuketrichard]

pefectly resonable and in line with US regulations.

The visiting friends has never been easy to get in the states

as to owning property u would only need show them a copy of ur yellow book, ( which is issued if u own the house ( not the land) or in my case the blue book with my name on the last page as residing there.

and Farangs can own up to 49% of condos in any project

If u look at these new regulations i think they are better for all except for those that have been abusing the rules coming out of Hull

[121Advice]

DON'T Panic everyone!!

I have recently renewed my non-immigrant "O" visa via Hull and they did accept my condo rental agreement - no problem whatsoever.

I also include a copy of my Thai Bank statement to prove I have funds to sustain myself (not a substantial amount!!)

I do not have any relations in Thailand, only friends. As long as you can provide a copy of your rental agreement there is NO problem whatsoever.

For those staying in hotel [type] accommodation, a letter from the hotel confirming your longer length of stay is also sufficient.

There is only a problem if you wish to stay in Thailand longer term but travel from accommodation to accommodation, but for expats/long stay tourists this is not generally how you live (far to expensive:)

Hope this helps,

Andrew

[TimeBandit2]

"All seems very reasonable and in order to me."

Well, it might be consistent, but don't you think that this is bad news on the face of it? (Provided there is substance to it)

I tried to get a Non-O for "visiting friends"from the consulate in Los Angeles and they said it was not an acceptable reason. Why is it reasonable and orderly to make people's lives difficult?

The basic problem is that there is no visa catagory for a person that is under 50, moderately financed, and wishes to spend their money in Thailand for most of the year. The United States issues 10 year tourist visas with stays up to six months per entry. The Thais give you a sixth month visa good for two months+1 per entry...yay.

As long as the appropriate visa doesn't exist, people will have to seek out the innappropriate visa, and it isn't good news when this gets harder.

[sub101uk]

Hi Guys thanks for all your replys regarding changes in all Non-Immigrant Visas , I had a reply back from Alan P Taylor Royal Thai Consulate Hull and they have accepted a copy of my Apartment Lease Agreement so all is well once again .

Sub101uk